Tag: B/R Swagger

MMA Referee Jumps in to Rip Fighter off Opponent with Amazing Takedown

This video should serve as a reminder that sometimes, the baddest man in the cage isn’t one of the two fighters but the referee tasked with managing all of the captivating action. 
Bob’s Blitz spotted this video featuring Ahmad Aswad and&nbsp…

This video should serve as a reminder that sometimes, the baddest man in the cage isn’t one of the two fighters but the referee tasked with managing all of the captivating action. 

Bob’s Blitz spotted this video featuring Ahmad Aswad and Nathias Frederick making their appearance on FIGHT UK MMA – Last Man Standing. 

But this video isn’t about the fighters, their budding careers or what appears to be a swift knockout blow from Frederick. It’s about the third party who was in the cage with the two MMA fighters: referee Leon Roberts. 

With 40 seconds left in the fight, Frederick drops a devastating left just a moment after connecting with a right. Aswad goes down, and his opponent follows to guarantee this bout has reached its very quick end. 

Next Impulse Sports’ Kiley Kmiec spotted this video, breaking down the part that comes at about six minutes, 25 seconds into the above video: “At that moment referee Leon Roberts took it upon himself to make sure it didn’t continue. Just watch and enjoy the great form displayed by the referee who is not to be trifled with.”

some_textKmiec isn’t the only one impressed with the form, because one announcer chimes in with praise: “Leon Roberts with the slickest back take I have ever seen from an official.”

His colleague counters with, “Anybody who says refs don’t train, watch that.”

The two then take a second to let the remaining moments breathe, making sure of the result before adding any analysis. One announcer notes that Frederick already had the win, intimating the fighter could have been penalized for continuing to pound away. 

We couldn’t track down any word from either fighter, but the embrace shared prior to the announcement of Frederick’s victory surely illustrates there was no ill will from either party. 

Frederick, it would surely seem, was just caught up in the moment and proceeded to land blow after blow well after it was necessary. 

Thankfully, there is a fail-safe in the form of one hulking official with the moves to guarantee a modicum of safety amid a knockout. 

Roberts may not have his name by the decision in the fight, but he certainly delivered the most memorable submission of the bout. 

 

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Team Fighting Championship Is 5-on-5 MMA Insanity You Have to See

For those who find normal MMA dull, here is some five-on-five action that should get that heart pumping. Also, see a doctor, because your need for more action is a little disconcerting.
Middle Easy’s Zeus spotted this video, thanks to a tip from Twitte…

For those who find normal MMA dull, here is some five-on-five action that should get that heart pumping. Also, see a doctor, because your need for more action is a little disconcerting.

Middle Easy’s Zeus spotted this video, thanks to a tip from Twitter user Phuket Top Team, featuring a cavalcade of awesome.

The YouTube description from Team Fighting Championship has a bit more detail on the advent of team-building exercises that now feature fists to faces:

This is a 4 minutes video of the Fight 1 of the TFC Event 1 LPH (Poznan, Poland) vs Wisemen (Gothenburg, Sweden). The 15 minutes video is already available on our site www.teamsfight.com for registered users.

They go on to say that they will continue to upload more snippets to YouTube in the coming weeks, so consider this an aperitif to get you hungry for more melee action.

We all love MMA, but we simply have to ask when considering a sports spin-off that seems aimed at ADD fans who just found the usual fisticuffs boring: Were you not entertained? Well, I guess you weren’t, because this confined MMA riot is now a thing.

Most of you may have the same reaction to the video as comedian and MMA color commentator Joe Rogan, who had some NSFW thoughts on the video via Twitter, stating simply, “Team fighting? That’s [expletive] nuts.”

Indeed, it is nuts, especially considering what YouTube commenters spotted, which was the discrepancy in the team’s sizes.

As you see in the video, the fight begins with a clash of kicks and punches and devolves into fighters trying to stave off attacks from their backs. However, we never quite get to see any grappling, because as one fighter submits, it opens up the ability for the other team to double-, triple- and quadruple-team an opponent.

It’s like an avalanche of aggression toppling over the opposing side, and it’s swift.

If this fight was any indication, bouts might take all of a few minutes to conclude, giving MMA fans a brawl with a ton to see and limited time to savor the images.

Essentially, it’s what you all might order on a wish list in 2014.

Of course, there is stuff that needs to be worked out here and there, and this is just a slice of a much larger presentation.

However, we were at the very least intrigued to see more. If you feel the same, we might just have the next iteration of MMA. This seems to take place in Poland, but it is definitely something American fans might enjoy as well. 

With that, we have the worst position to be in sport: the last man standing during a Team Fighting Championship fight.

 

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Dan Henderson Destroyed Shogun Rua’s Nose

Warning: Image of a graphic injury below
“Does it look broken?”
After two strong rounds, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua walked away from UFC Fight Night 39 with a crooked nose and a ninth loss under his belt.
Dan Henderson caught the Bra…

Warning: Image of a graphic injury below

“Does it look broken?”

After two strong rounds, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua walked away from UFC Fight Night 39 with a crooked nose and a ninth loss under his belt.

Dan Henderson caught the Brazilian light heavyweight with a devastating series of punches in the third round, two of which appeared to turn Rua’s nose sideways.

That brand of ugly might have to be handled by a specialist. You can’t always Steve Nash your nasal septum back into place.

The injury comes as no surprise, considering the three flavors of hell Henderson unleashed on the Brazilian’s sinuses before referee Herb Dean called the match. Robert Littal of BlackSportsOnline.com crafted a GIF of Henderson’s face-mashing flurry:

Fox analyst Brian Stann foreshadowed the match-ending punches, according to Mike Chiappetta of Fox Sports: “Henderson appeared to be living a nightmare against Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua when UFC on FOX analyst Brian Stann presciently noted that all was not lost for the 43-year-old. ‘As we all know, Henderson holds a big stick of dynamite in that right hand.’ Ten seconds later, the…main event was all over.”

Indeed, Henderson throws bricks with his right, and they’ll break a few windows if they land true.

As someone who has had his nose broken (headbutt, don’t ask), I harbor a deep and abiding respect for fighters like Rua who stand in the ring post-fight like their nose wasn’t just forcibly turned into lasagna. He grimaced through the end-of-match formalities, looking grim but undaunted.

He wasn’t alone in his pain. Henderson claimed Rua hurt him early in the going, per Chiappetta.

“He definitely dung me, he rang my bell a tad in the first round and then the second, too,” Henderson said. “I decided to be patient, too patient. I wasn’t very offensive. In the third round we decided to get after it and pick it up where we left off the last fight.”

Noses break, but we must not break with them. As for Rua, he’ll be icing that nose for a while.

Surgery is generally the only fix for a break this bad, but it’s nothing he can’t handle. He’ll go through the motions, ice the swelling and live to fight another day. Rua is 32, and judging by Henderson’s performance, he could be breaking young bucks’ noses more than a decade from now.

 

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MMA Fight Ends in Brutal 1-Second KO, Crowd Is Somehow Not Impressed

We still like skull-smacking knockouts, right? 
It’s an honest question: Do MMA fans continue to enjoy the sight of someone getting kicked in the face and falling lifeless to the ground? 
I only ask because a world record for the fastes…

We still like skull-smacking knockouts, right? 

It’s an honest question: Do MMA fans continue to enjoy the sight of someone getting kicked in the face and falling lifeless to the ground? 

I only ask because a world record for the fastest knockout in MMA may have been set Saturday, and the crowd reacted as though it had watched someone’s parents win a three-legged race.

The spectacular knockout was very real and occurred at WCMMA 14, according to Zane Simon of Bloody Elbow. While it can hardly be called a “fight,” a brief transaction of skin and bone occurred between fighters Sam Heron and Mike Garret.

Facing off in a matchup that can be described as “Mini Gronk vs. Bad Weasley,” Garret and Heron didn’t appear to be a good matchup from the beginning. Garret, the smaller version of Rob Gronkowski, came out and immediately ended the match with a rear leg head kick.

The crowd members weren’t ready. They barely had time to find their seats before Mini Gronk banished punk-rock Ron Weasley to the land of unconsciousness. 

Nonetheless, no one in the audience appeared to care when WCMMA promoter Dave O’Donnell explained to them that they had probably witnessed an MMA world record. 

“You have witnessed, people,” O’Donnell said, “one of the things I’ve never seen. One second! C’mon!”

O’Donnell tried, but apparently, the WCMMA crowd isn’t used to world record-threatening performances. Simon writes that the fight’s time stamp has yet to be confirmed.

As always the idea of an official time keeper stopping the clock becomes a bit hazy in these situations. UCMMA has helpfully provided their own, embedded time clock to make their claim, but it looked like it might have taken the ref another second to actually wave [the fight] off.

While nothing is official yet, this very well could prove to be the fastest. Two seconds is the current standing record for fastest knockout in MMA history, according to Doug Sibor of Complex Sports. 

Either way, Garret appears to have a future in MMA—or at least a job lined up kicking down doors. That man can boot.

 

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Ronda Rousey Wants to Have ’57 Babies’ with MMA Legend Fedor Emelianenko

“We should mate—ahem, date. You know, casually.” 
These immortal words were once spoken by White Goodman, and they share an eerily similar message to a recent admission made by MMA star Ronda Rousey. 
Rousey was recently in …

“We should mate—ahem, date. You know, casually.” 

These immortal words were once spoken by White Goodman, and they share an eerily similar message to a recent admission made by MMA star Ronda Rousey. 

Rousey was recently in Los Angeles speaking to members of the media when she told reporters that she wouldn’t mind procreating extensively with the retired Russian martial artist Fedor Emelianenko. 

The admission was spotted by Matt Erickson of MMAJunkie.com (h/t Mike Foss of For The Win) and certainly adds a new layer to her adoration of Emelianenko.

“Do I want to have 57 of his babies? It’s true,” Rousey said. “I think he’s married, though, so I’m not allowed.”

Rousey continued, explaining that Emelianenko was a big factor in what initially hooked her onto mixed martial arts.

He was like my first real exposure to MMA…I never really thought of [MMA] as a real thing until a couple years ago. A friend of mine showed me a Fedor Emelianenko highlight and it just blew my mind…so he’s always been my image of what MMA is supposed to be.

This isn’t the first time Rousey has gushed over her MMA hero. She’s readily admitted her admiration for Emelianenko in the past, claiming that she tries to emulate his style in the ring. 

Rousey has been a dedicated student of Emelianenko’s signature ground-and-pound technique, although in this new context it takes on a whole new meaning. 

Unfortunately for Rousey, her idol is indeed married. That being said, the idea of these two elite fighters having progeny of their own paints a ridiculous picture of dominance. 

Imagining a fighter with that combined bloodline is a scary prospect—let alone 57 of them running around. The Rousey-Emelianenko family could field its own SEAL Team and Delta Force, with enough kids left over to start their own MMA league.

Rousey’s thoughts are best left out of these clouds, however. She will be taking on silver medalist wrestler and undefeated MMA fighter Sara McCann in UFC 170 on February 22 and will need all her focus to maintain her perfect record.

It’ll be a tough challenge, considering McCann’s wrestling background. Rousey’s experience in the ring and intense study of greats, however, should be enough to help her pull out another decisive victory.

 

She grabs the bull by the horns. It’s a metaphor, but that actually happened.

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Batman, Robin and Spider-Man Fight in Video with General WTF Appeal

That DC/Marvel crossover seems to be going well. 
Uproxx’s Brandon Stroud spotted this video and did the only sensible thing you do when discovering a true masterpiece: post it for all to see. However, we weren’t able to lock down any details abou…

That DC/Marvel crossover seems to be going well. 

Uproxx’s Brandon Stroud spotted this video and did the only sensible thing you do when discovering a true masterpiece: post it for all to see. However, we weren’t able to lock down any details about the fight. 

Deadspin’s Tom Ley ran into the same issue we did: We have this great video that is exactly what we need as a holiday hangover wanes, but it doesn’t come fully loaded with answers. 

Mixed Martial Arts’ message board does have a breakdown of the fight, including a more detailed version of The Riddler‘s part in all this.  

But we have to give the Most Ardent Internetting Award to Fox Sports’ Marc Raimondi who informs, “Apparently, this was part of an eight-man MMA tournament in Southampton, England that crowned the UK’s title of “Hardest Man” back in October.”

That link takes you to the competition’s website, which proclaims, “Reputations must be earned!” Apparently, they are earned right after visiting the costume shop. 

Here is a trailer for the event:

Now I’ve always been a Batman guy, so it concerns me how this unidentified fighter was more Bruce Wayne than Caped Crusader. 

When it comes to Robin, things are as we would expect. Whether it be the animated version, Chris O’Donnell or Burt Ward, we will gladly take any of the men who have played Alfred over the years instead. 

There is no character in comic book lore more useless save Samuel “Screech” Powers or Aquaman. And that sentiment continues in this video, as Robin nearly relegates himself to slapping his opponent. The only thing less effective would have been if he cowered in the corner, resorting to an arsenal of colorful but very harsh language. 

The best thing about this video is the high replay value. Watch it again, but this time with the realization that there is actual commentating going on in the background: “Spider-Man very confident. Robin has been taken out in the first round with a very good knee.” 

In the end, we think this Spider-Man character has a real future in the “beating up random guys in costume” business. 

I’d also like to take a moment to step back and appreciate the referee who is dressed like mall security for some reason. He looks like he just happened upon a fight between a bunch of rabble-rousers and is trying to stop it. 

Robin is ousted, Batman loses and The Riddler jumps out of nowhere near the end. However, we think this idea of mere mortals dressing up and fighting for our benefit is a swell idea. 

We will take more servings of whatever this is, and we will take it now. 

 

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